


Kamen Rider Memora

by Estirose



Category: Kamen Rider Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 07:02:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1460260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Minthus have set their sights on Earth. The Osa must call forth their chosen one. Their Kamen Rider Memora.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was an OC Kamen Rider that I wrote a few years ago under a different pen name on fanfiction.net (Mezzoalto). I lost contact with my beta before I finished part 3, so it is what it is. It is my only story with an original Kamen Rider.

Note: The original idea of Kamen Rider belongs to Ishinomori, I'm just borrowing it for this fanfic.

**Kamen Rider Memora**   
**by MezzoAlto**

_Episode 1: Remember the Earth!_

Lily Compton leaned on the mountain wall of the trail and took a sip of water from her bottle as her friend Eileen stepped through a small stream. "I'm glad you talked me into this, Eileen. Even if I'm going to be absolutely exhausted by the time we reach the Valley."

"Working up a sweat is good for you," Eileen retorted as she made it to the other side. "Isn't the waterfall pretty?"

"Yeah, to think that it's going to dry up soon," Lily said flatly. It felt like what had happened to her job.

Eileen smiled sympathetically and started walking down towards the next curve. Lily leaned against the wall for another minute before braving the stream; she'd slipped the first day they were out hiking; nothing had hurt but her pride, thank goodness. She took a casual look towards the other side of the path; a long, dangerous fall awaited her if she slipped on that side, helped or hindered by the local trees and bushes on the way down.

At least this trip seemed to be helping out a little; Lily already felt less stressed about having to hunt for a new job in the current economy. And, she could honestly say she was doing something to make herself feel better. With determination, Lily stepped into the stream, balancing as best she could, barely glancing at the tiny waterfall. As she was getting ready to step out onto dry land, a flash of bright light seemed to hold her in place.

"Flower Child," a voice chimed as she blinked at the return of her normal eyesight, "We have need of you."

"Flower Child?" she echoed, looking around. Eileen was a slowly moving, hazy image before her, as if Lily was in a bubble of time. She looked down at the water, which seemed to be moving normally, but as she looked behind, everything was the same hazy, slow-moving image. She pushed at the bubble, which didn't move. Then she tried to step through the edge of the bubble. It stubbornly didn't allow her to push through. "Hey, let me out of here! Eileen! Can you hear me?"

But Eileen continued to move slowly, unhearing.

"We are the Osa," the chiming voice said, seemingly coming from the light, which floated in the air. It seemed to not notice that Lily might, say, not want to be trapped in a hazy bubble in the middle of a hiking trail as she tried to push through with her walking staff. "We are watchers of the plants and the animals and the life of this world. We have come to warn you, Flower Child, of the threat coming to your world, and have come to select you as our champion, and the world's champion, to defend against the alien metal that would make the world barren."

"You seem pretty qualified to handle a 'threat' yourself," Lily said, pushing at the bubble, trying once more to get free. Maybe she was imagining things. She hoped. "Stop talking like a stereotypical princess, and tell me why you've got me here!"

"You connect to the land in a way that you cannot see, and yet you understand the forged metal of your kind. You care for the land, and yet you work with the metal. You understand the weakness of metal. That is why you alone can do this." The Osa floated over her head, as if trying to seem superior. She wondered if it was trying to talk down to her, though the voice was placid, not superior-sounding.

"You can put people in bubbles that distort time," Lily said, pushing at the sides and glaring up at it. "I can't get out. Why can't you do that to the 'threat'?"

"Because we can only communicate this way," the voice - Osa - said. "We can only create these bubbles for a limited time. Someone with a greater physical presence in this world is needed to keep things safe."

Right. She crossed her arms and looked up at the light, wondering if tapping her foot would do her any good. "And how am I supposed to do this? I'm not a fighter. I'm a tech support person. I fix computers. Over the phone. You know, not physical stuff. I'm getting tired hiking down this trail, how am I supposed to fight these whatevers?" She flexed her muscles as a body builder would. "See? No muscles to speak of. I'd be a bad choice."

"The Earth will help you fight. You will be given armor, metal from the Earth, to aid you and give you strength," the Osa said. "They would take this world and make it metal, barren. Our metal does not hurt our planet; theirs will."

"Right now, I'm not seeing a threat," Lily pointed out, leaning stubbornly on her stick, "Unless you count me being trapped in a time bubble. And I'm not going on some fancy quest to find such a thing, because I need to jobhunt. Not to listen to sparkly things that have me in a stupid time bubble."

"We cannot force you to be our champion," the Osa said, the chimes sounding discordant, not the gentle chime of earlier. "But as they come, we hope you will see the need. Your armor will come to you."

"Right," Lily said doubtfully.

"Goodbye, our Flower Child, our Memora." There was a flash of light, and the bubble was gone. Eileen was moving at normal speed, down the trail, almost to the corner.

Lily shook her head, wondering if she needed her meds adjusted, and tugged at her backpack strap. As she did, she felt something below. She looked down to find what seemed to be a belt of some kind, a flat hemp-like belt with a metal piece in the middle where the buckle should be.

"Hey, Lily," her friend said, "You okay? Or is that t-shirt trying to strangle you?"

Lily looked over to see her friend standing at the trail curve. She looked down, and the belt was gone. "Ah, just rearranging some things," she said, straightening her shirt.

She wondered if she'd hallucinated the whole thing.

The two of them finished hiking down the trail and then walked up towards the nearest bus stop that was, to Lily's dismay, not that near. She was in decent shape, but not hiking shape. "And they thought I was going to save the Earth how?" she muttered as she leaned against the bridge wall. The whole thing still seemed so unreal, and she tried not to think about it.

"Who thought what?" Eileen asked, pacing about under the bus stop sign.

"Oh, nothing," Lily said, shaking her head. She must have imagined it, she must have. "Just... I'm going nuts."

"I thought you were insane already," Eileen joked, grinning at Lily as the shuttle bus came into view. "So..."

They got on the bus and crammed themselves in the last two available seats that were together. "Nothing," Lily said. "I think the fresh air is making me imagine things. I swear, I have hiked more in the last two days than I have in my entire life!"

"And I had to practically haul you the top of Sentinel Dome, too," Eileen teased, poking Lily on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," Lily acknowledged with a shrug, holding onto her backpack as another tourist shuffled by. "Hiked that before hiking Four-Mile... no wonder I'm tired!"

The shuttle bus took them past several stops until they reached theirs, filling up with more people until it was standing room only. Eileen and Lily had to push their way through to get to the exit doors.

And then someone screamed. And someone else screamed, and then moving wasn't a problem as they were practically pushed out with the crowd. Lily stumbled, steadying herself once more with the stick, and she and Eileen tried to get out of the way of the fleeing crowd.

Then she saw the monster. It reminded her of a wolf crossed with a porcupine, though the resemblance was only vague. It was golden, the fur shiny spikes, with a tail full of spikes as well. Tiny eyes of a sort glared just above a pointy snout. The fur moved, chiming, as if it was trying to communicate, but nothing intelligible came out; it sounded more like the monster was trying to imitate 80's pop.

"Running would be a good idea," Lily said to Eileen, grabbing her friend's shoulder with her free hand. "Really good idea."

"That monster's playing Duran Duran," Eileen said, fascinated, staring at the monster as if drawn by the music. "I wonder if it's trying to communicate?"

"I don't care what it's playing, or if it's going to communicate, I just want to get out of here - oh, shit." The belt had reappeared. Lily could almost see the items hanging off of it. "Okay, maybe I wasn't imagining things."

The monster cocked its head and turned the trunk of a nearby tree to metal. Lily tried not to imagine what that would do to a human, and pulled on Eileen's arm. "I don't wanna find out what that thing can do," she said.

"I guess it isn't friendly!" Eileen said with a slight squeak, finally moving.

The two of them ran as best as they could down a trail away from the monster, where other tourists hadn't seemed to have gone, Lily stumbling from all the exercise of the day.

"Are you okay?" Eileen asked, when they came to a rest. Lily leaned on a tree, grateful for the support, and breathed heavily. Her side was beginning to hurt; she massaged it. She noticed Eileen leaning against another tree.

"Runny away from a metallic wolf before lunch was not in my plans for today," Lily said, looking over at Eileen. "Okay, Sentinel Dome wasn't either, but at least I got a good view of the valley from there!"

"See, all you needed was a push," Eileen said with a grin, catching her breath.

"Yeah, all I needed was a hike up Sentinel Dome, a hike down Four-Mile, a mysterious entity sticking me in a time bubble on the way down and telling me to save the Earth, and then a metallic wolf appearing to scare- I'm having a bad day."

"You, saving the-" Eileen stared at her. "Lily, are you telling me that you're a superhero?"

"Um," Lily said, looking away in desperate hope that Eileen would forget about what she'd said, and trying to pull her t-shirt over the strange belt. "You read too many comic books."

"Well, you certainly didn't have that belt before," Eileen said, motioning in the direction of the belt in question. "Do you know how to use it?"

"I have absolutely no fragging clue," Lily snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at her friend. Maybe it would work on Eileen where it hadn't worked on the Osa. "It's not like the fragging nightlight bothered to give me an instruction manual."

"Or maybe you lost it," Eileen said, tapping her chin. "That was the thing with the Greatest American Hero. You ever see it?"

"That so doesn't help, Eileen!" Lily snapped, sliding down the tree until she was sitting down. Maybe if she hid in a ball, the belt would go away.

"Or, maybe, if you concentrate on it, it'll tell you what to do, that's how it is with some superheroes." Lily looked up; Eileen was standing there, as if this was some kind of fascinating intellectual puzzle. Of course, to her, it probably was some kind of fascinating intellectual puzzle.

"Eileen, I'm not a superhero because some bobbing light gave me a belt in the middle of hiking Four-Mile!" She looked over at her friend, who was smiling down at her in some amusement.

"Yes, you are a superhero," Eileen said, and then knelt down next to her. "You remember, 'With great power, comes great responsibility'? Seems like you've got a power there."

"Don't quote Spiderman at me," Lily groaned, massaging her side as if it would help. "Eileen, I'm tired. I don't wanna be fighting a metallic wolf that tries to communicate with 80's pop tunes."

"Well, too bad, because you're the superhero," Eileen said, poking the belt, which had materialized over the t-shirt. "You are going to figure this thing out, and you are going to fight that monster, because you are going to go save the day."

"Eileen," Lily said, grinning with a sudden burst of inspiration, "If you're so keen on the superhero business, why don't you try it yourself?"

"Sure," Eileen said. "Hand it over. And when it doesn't work, you can go save the world like a good hero."

Lily slipped her backpack off and then pulled the belt up off her body, handing it to Eileen. The belt was amazingly elastic for something that looked like flattened hemp "Here you go," she said, with the same fake happy tone she used on her callers.

Eileen tried slipping it on, but it wouldn't stretch around her broader body. "No go," she said, smirking at Lily. "Looks like you get to be the superhero."

Lily sighed and took the belt back, slipping it back over her body. It settled comfortably, as if it belonged. "Still didn't come with instructions," she said.

"Hm," Eileen said, tapping her chin. "Try putting your hands on the belt and concentrating, that works in the comics."

Lily rolled her eyes, but obeyed. As she did, words came to her mind, and she found herself speaking. "Memory! Transform!"

Something solid formed around her, hard material. She blinked as she gazed out of eyeholes in a helmet, and then, suddenly she could see as if her view was unobstructed. She heard Eileen whistle. "Instruction manual comes in the belt," Eileen said in amusement. "At least you should have no trouble fighting. All the knowledge should come to your head."

"What do I look like?" Lily asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer. Eileen was starting to sound uncomfortably like the Osa.

"Step forward," Eileen said, "so I can get a good look."

When Lily obeyed, Eileen added, "Oh, pretty good metal armor, flexible at the elbows and knees but still armored so that the enemy can't disable you that easily. Wing casings at the back - maybe you'll have some kind of wing form. Probably nice, springy legs. Long antennae on your helmet. Reminds me of a bug. Hmmm. Grasshopper? No, katydid, I think. You look good in green."

"You have been spending too much time with the comic books," Lily remarked, putting her now-armored hands at her now-armored hips. "Why an insect?"

"Why not?" Eileen asked, raising an eyebrow and motioning at the armor. "We're in a national park, and you were given your powers by a ball of light. Is insect armor so absurd?"

"When you put it that way," Lily allowed, leaning against the tree once more. She would have made a face at Eileen, but remembered she was wearing a helmet. "So, what do I do now?"

"Find the monster and kill it?" Eileen suggested, raising her eyebrows. "Or whatever the beings that gave you your powers want you to do. Probably get rid of the wee beastie somehow."

"I'm-" Lily was about to say she was tired, but her energy seemed to be returning. Maybe the armor was giving her strength.

"Oh, stop complaining and save the world," Eileen said, giving her a push. "I'll grab your backpack, you fight the monster."

"Why me?" Lily muttered.

"Because that's what superheroes do," Eileen insisted. "And besides, that way, I don't have to guilt you into a large donation for the Yosemite Fund for all the stuff the monster is probably tearing up as we speak."

Lily groaned. "As I said, why me?" Then she heard a boom in the background, and screams. She slumped. Someone had to help those people. And right now, she was the only one with the armor and the working super powers. "Okay, let's go."

"That's the spirit!" Eileen announced cheerfully, picking up Lily's backpack and retracting the staff.

It didn't take them long to locate the monster once they got back down the path; it was happily turning a wood building into metal. Lily could see several tourists trapped inside, banging on the glass, as the door melded into the wall, though she lost sight of them when the metal engulfed the window. Lily didn't doubt that once it was done with the building, it would aim for the two other buildings and the bushes and trees nearby.

"Okay, prepare to fight!" she proclaimed, striking what was probably an absurd pose.

"You forgot the 'alien scuzzball,'" Eileen said from somewhere behind her. Lily didn't dare look, but she trusted that Eileen had good sense to hide behind a tree or a sign or whatever was nearby.

"Yes, thanks," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "You wanna do this?"

"Will you attack him already?" Eileen called from where she was hiding.

Right." Lily charged at the monster. It clinked against a tree and fell backwards into the foliage. She glanced around quickly for Eileen. A heavy force smashed into her head. Lily staggered and looked up to see the monster charging her. It slammed her twice, making her stagger into the partially-metallic building. As she regained her balance, it threw a fist at her again. Her arm came up to block it, and she pushed the creature away.

Changing tactics, it swung around, shooting spikes out of its tail. They pinged hard on her stomach, making her double over. Lily gasped, staggering back. She had to be careful, the suit's energy was the only thing keeping her running.

She rushed at it again, tackling it to the ground, punching. Hit once. Twice. Three times. Something softened and gave. The monster grunted, pushing her off and staggering. Wounded, maybe.

But after a second, it was rushing her again. She stepped sideways, bracing herself. She grabbed it and threw it across the clearing. Like she'd done it for ages. "How'd I-"

She didn't have a chance to think further. With a roar, it seemed to become spikier. It was going to attack again. Or maybe just blow everything up around it. "What do I-"

Kick. The answer echoed in her head. "Kick, right," she said, kneeling slightly and jumping into the air. The monster below her bristled as she angled towards it. Somehow, she didn't kill herself as she hit it.

Instead, the monster staggered, and then there was an explosion, and the monster was no more. The dust settled. And sparkled? Lily took a step closer, eyeing the gold dust.

Lily took a deep breath, making sure it wasn't going to reassemble itself. Something that the Osa had told her surfaced in her mind, though. Her power would make the monsters, the metal, compatible with the Earth's.

She wondered if that meant that there would be a lot of people collecting the remains, and if it was like gold, or like Fool's Gold. And speaking of the tourists, maybe she should check on them. The front of the door seemed fused to the rest of the structure, but there had to be another door. California safety regulations required it. She went around until she found one.

The store was empty for the most part, the back door hanging open. Only one woman cowered under a table formerly full of polished burled wood. She knelt beside the table. "Are you all right?"

"What in the hell are you?" the woman asked, her eyes wide.

"A superhero. Do you need aid? The monster's gone."

"There's no such thing as superheroes," the woman said, refusing to come out from under the table.

"That's what I used to say," Lily remarked as she held out a hand. "Where did everybody else go?"

"Out the back." The woman cocked her head in that direction. "I'm not going out until the Park Rangers give the all-clear."

"Okay," Lily said, getting up. If the woman wanted to wait for the Rangers, and she wasn't bleeding, then Lily should probably leave her to the Rangers.

She made her way back to the trailhead, Eileen joining her from the tree she had been hiding behind. "A little clumsy, but I knew you could do it," Eileen said warmly. She patted Lily on the shoulder. "Now, let's go somewhere private so you can change back."

Lily nodded. "Right."

"And then I'm gonna lend you my 'Who Wants to Be a Superhero' DVDs so that you can see what a superhero is supposed to be like," Eileen said, obviously thinking ahead.

"Eileen... I can't be a superhero, I need to jobhunt," Lily said as they walked. "I need to find something that pays money. I need a roof over my head. Food. I can't stay here in Yosemite forever."

"Who says you have to stay?" Eileen asked. "By the way, it should be safe to power down."

Lily nodded again after glancing around. Out of paranoia, she stepped off the trail so she wouldn't be in anybody's direct sight. "Come on, go away," she muttered, and the armor obligingly disappeared.

"I think you're getting a hang of the superhero biz," Eileen said admiringly as Lily reemerged onto the trail

"Yeah, a hang off of a cliff," Lily said, as Eileen handed Lily her backpack and staff. "Which is all too appropriate out here. I still have no idea how to juggle superheroing and a job that would allow me to live as I like living."

"You have a job," Eileen said patiently, leaning back against the tree. "Sure, it's not one that pays the bills, but still..."

Lily rolled her eyes and slumped against another nearby tree, not bothering to put her pack back on. "Right. When I said I needed a job, I didn't mean this!"

"Too bad, you have it," Eileen said, patting Lily's shoulder. "A damned good job, too."

Lily would have said something more, but the damned bubble had formed around her. The Osa must have wanted to talk.

"I make a lousy guardian," Lily said, the moment the Osa showed itself. Themselves. Whatever. "I really don't think I'm the guardian you're looking for. I have no clue on how to fight, the armor's doing the job for me, I'm not in shape. You need a fighter, not a computer geek that's going to lose her house in two months. Find someone else."

The nightlight was silent for a moment. "No."

"What do you mean, no?" Lily asked. "I am not..."

"You are a child with your powers," the Osa said, "learning how to walk. Your powers and your control will grow greater as your bond with this land grows. But you must give that bond a chance."

"I have a life outside this, I have to be able to eat and have a roof over my head," Lily pointed out. "I can't live here. If the invaders are going to be attacking Yosemite, and I'm expected to guard it, I have to live somewhere."

"We know," the Osa said. "We know of your modern conveniences. Place your hand on the tree next to us."

Puzzled, Lily did so, and their surroundings changed. She was leaning against a different tree, this time, and there was a wood cabin, obviously neglected, off to one side. "Where are we?"

"Deep in the woods of your 'national park'," the Osa told her. "You are protecting this Earth; this Earth will provide shelter and food for you. This location will make sure others do not bother you. We, or you, can repair it as you live in it."

"And how am I supposed to fight these monsters - who'll probably attack places like earlier - if I'm out here?" Lily pointed out sensibly. She wondered if the Osa realized that she wanted her creature comforts, not a moldy cabin in the middle of nowhere. Sure, it was free, but it probably didn't even have indoor plumbing.

"You will know how to get there," the Osa told her.

"If I'm in the middle of nowhere," Lily said, motioning at the woods around her, "I'm going to have a hell of a hike to get anywhere, much less save anybody or anything. I'm not that fast."

"Do you want us to move the cabin?" the Osa asked, clearly puzzled.

Lily sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. "You know what? I've got a friend that was with me. Why don't you bubble us back to her, and maybe she'll have an idea."

"She is your helper?" the Osa chimed.

"Hell yes," Lily said. "She's brighter than I am - you grabbed the wrong person. She'd be perfect for this."

"There's a reason why you are the one with powers, and she is the one with wisdom," the Osa told her, bobbing a bit.

"Just get us back, okay?" Lily said, leaning against the tree.

A moment later, they were back, and she was standing next to Eileen. Lily had the weird sensation of watching the bubble disappear, and then coming back up it surrounded the both of them.

"So, this would be your new boss, the nightlight?" Eileen asked, quirking an eyebrow at the Osa.

"I guess," Lily said, feeling all of her exercise for the day catching up with her. She leaned back against the tree. "It wants to put me in a cabin in the deep woods - I told it that's not a good idea. It would take me forever to hike. It's nuts."

"Well, it makes sense if your energy is from the land. You need to live on the land," Eileen said. "Be part of it. I'm sure it'll do you some good."

"Eileen," Lily said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder in exasperation, "I could get arrested if someone found me, power source or no. Plus, as I said, I can't save places if I can't get places."

"Well, if it's only a mile or three away... you can drive," Eileen said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "I know someone who has an off-road bike that they might be willing to get rid of."

"Eileen, don't help the Osa," Lily groaned, thumping her head gently against the nearest tree.

"We can make the cabin a three of your miles away," the Osa said, ignoring her. "The land can move it... or regrow it." It paused. "It can grow you a new home at a location you choose, at the distance you specify. And the land will help you out as you grow closer to it. It will feed you and house you in return for your guardianship."

"Free room and board, it sounds like," Eileen told her with a grin, she looked up at the Osa. "Your boss has a nice voice."

"Never mind how it sounds," Lily argued. "I have no clue on how to live on the land! I have no clue on how to survive this!" She found she was waving her arms at the last bit, trying to get the insanity of the whole thing through to Eileen.

"Well, I do," Eileen said, hands on hips as she admired the cabin. "And I think you'll get to learn. You knew how to fight, after all, why couldn't it teach you how to live?" She thought for a moment. "And, you know, I could bring you some stuff too. Camp food and a water purifier and camp cookware. Camp furniture too. A stove. A solar charger for electronics. I can bring you stuff to help shape that new place of yours up. It'll do you some good. I'm sure your new benefactors will keep you from being kicked out of the park."

"She will be part of the Earth," the Osa said. "The ones who watch will not notice her, or this... bike... or its trails."

"See?" Eileen asked encouragingly. "And I'll just find some way to live in here. I'm sure there's some housing, especially down in Wawona. The town, that is, not the hotel. And I can drive up when I need internet access. But you? You're set up. I'd say you'd better order up that housing three miles off some road up here, and just settle in. I'm sure that the Earth can offer some help with the monetary stuff, too."

"Um," Lily said, and looked at the Osa, which was still floating unhelpfully in the sky.

"We will see what we can do," the Osa replied as the trail reappeared.

The bubble faded, and the two looked at each other. "Well, I guess you have a job to do, and I have stuff to get for you. I think it might not be a good idea for you to get away from the land for a while," Eileen said, dusting off her shorts out of habit. "Power source and all."

Lily groaned and stared at her friend. "I can't believe I'm supposed to get used to all this."

Eileen shrugged, giving her a one-armed hug. "You will. I'll get that bike and some camp stuff, you just keep staying where you are until they're ready for you. It'll all work out in the end."

Lily stared at the forest beyond the buildings, the waterfalls rising up ahead in the distance. "I hope so," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: The original idea of Kamen Rider belongs to Ishinomori, I'm just borrowing it for this fanfic. Thank you to Kuro Tenshi, my wonderful beta who forgave me for not crediting them the first time.

**Kamen Rider Memora  
by MezzoAlto**

_Episode 2: Judgment Call_

A disaster, that's what it was.

Lily groaned as she took her first look at the inside of her new home. The Osa had promised her housing, and they'd made noise about strengthening the wood as they moved the place closer to civilization. However, they'd forgotten a few things, she decided as she slipped her backpack and sleeping bag down to the ground. Like a floor, for one.

The floor of her new home was covered in grass and bushes, like the cabin had just been plunked there without any regard to the comfort of the new human occupant. And since Eileen had handed her a spare sleeping bag and pillow out of the trunk and told her she was now going to go live in her new housing, Lily had to find a place to roll the sleeping bag out where she wouldn't be poked by any sticks or rocks.

She could see several long hours of work ahead of her; it was going to take a while to make this place seem like home.

"And there's a hole in the roof, too," she muttered to herself as she looked up. She then looked around the cabin, spotting the only good reason for being there. She walked over to the fireplace and looked up the chimney. "Does the fireplace work?"

It would be hard to tell; Lily had a vague notion that there was a reason that chimney sweeps existed, but not ever having a fireplace in her life, she wasn't sure how to take care of one. She hoped so, though. She kind of liked the idea of having a fireplace.

That might be the only bright spot of the whole mess.

She'd seen an outhouse when the Osa had been showing her where she'd live. An outhouse was good. An outhouse would at least let her go to the bathroom in peace. She opened the door cautiously, because she remembered that the outhouse was supposed to smell.

But it didn't. As the door swung open, she saw a rusty iron bar on the inside of the door with supports - probably some kind of locking system. Good. She looked at the inside of the outhouse. A small space, probably about three or four feet to each side, with a solid bench toward the back, and a bush poking out of a hole in the middle of the bench.

Wait. A bush. Lily stepped forward and grasped it, tried to pull. It didn't come out, which meant it had to be anchored - rooted - below the outhouse. Lily was under the impression that outhouses had pits underneath them, so where was the pit?

She let go of the bush and it quivered, with a small projectile smacking into her cheek. She swatted at it too late, and realized as it landed down on the wood of the outhouse that it was some kind of insect. A cricket or grasshopper. Eileen would probably know; Eileen knew those sorts of things.

Eileen would love it here. Eileen would know exactly what to do. But Lily was a city girl, she loved her electricity and her septic system, and everything working without her having to mess with it overly much.

She sat down on the bench, beside the bush, and sighed. "I am _not_ doing this."

But she had to do something, she knew that. Maybe she could convince the Osa to be useful. They damn well weren't, and it wasn't like she'd asked for this whole thing. "Osa!" she yelled.

Nothing happened. Maybe they couldn't hear her. She moderated her tone, trying to make it sound more pleading. "Osa?"

Maybe they weren't listening. Maybe they could only be summoned during certain parts of the day. Or maybe they had put her on 'ignore'.

She took a deep breath. They probably did have her on 'ignore'. Maybe they were out choosing a new Memora, or at least thinking about it. She hoped so.

Standing up, she took a deep breath and calmed down. Getting pissy wasn't going to help, apparently. "Osa."

The bubble formed around her. "Yes, Memora?" the Osa chimed, floating above her head as usual.

"The outhouse has no hole," she said, pointing at the bush, "And the cabin that you put me in has vegetation in it."

"Both buildings had vegetation in them before," the Osa said. "Why is this different?"

"Well, it's very hard to use the bathroom with a bush poking through the toilet seat," Lily said. "When people used it before, they probably cleared the vegetation out when they built these places."

"Then you can do so too, yes?" the Osa asked.

"I was rather hoping that you could," Lily said, motioning at the bush. "You know, make it more habitable?"

"But it is habitable as it is," the Osa replied, swirling around her head. "If you wish to make it more habitable by your definition, you are welcome to do so."

Lily hid her face in her hands and wondered if anybody else had ever had this kind of problem.

"Do not worry, Memora, the land is trying to make you welcome." The Osa said, before the bubble faded away.

"The land is doing a lousy job of it," Lily muttered. She pulled at the bush to no avail, and decided that if Eileen thought this was so wonderful, Eileen could come up with ideas on how to make it more like home.

* * *

"So, it's a fixer-upper," Eileen said, sipping at her coffee in the open-air cafe as they watched kids run around the paths of Curry Village. "It's free. Can't get much cheaper than free."

"Yeah, and I guess that the window has glass is a minor good thing, but... I came to Yosemite to hike, not make semi-permanent camp in an old cabin that was moved and strengthened by a supernatural entity." Lily folded her hands.

Eileen shrugged. "These things happen."

Lily groaned and sipped at her own coffee. "What am I, fate's chew toy? Is there some reason I've been chosen instead of some backpacker who's been to Yosemite hundreds of times and knows the woods and would love this kind of thing?"

"No, you're the person that the Osa think can save the world," Eileen said patiently. "Look. I'll go into town early tomorrow and get you a bunch of stuff so that you can get started. The outhouse sounds like it's a good place; ask the Osa to move it so you can dig."

"Dig how much?" Lily asked, hoping that the words "shallow" and "pit" would fill Eileen's sentence.

"Hm. I believe about three feet by three feet by six feet will do," Eileen said thoughtfully, putting her coffee down. "I'll buy some stuff that'll make that easier, okay?"

"What do I do in the meantime if I need to go?" Lily asked, staring at her friend.

"Dig a small hole, go, cover it up," Eileen said. "It's not perfect, but it works."

Lily groaned again. "I so hate this."

"Then get the Osa to move the outhouse," Eileen said patiently, "And stop whining."

"I am not whining, I am being practical," Lily told her, stirring her coffee. "I know incompetence when I am it."

"Well, you make a damned good Memora," Eileen said. "That's the important thing." She got up. "Look, it's going to probably take me most of tomorrow to go into town, buy stuff, and get back. You probably should stay here in case the nasty gold beings attack again. Why don't you come into the main park after you get up tomorrow, get some food, and just hang about where there are the kind of bathrooms you're into?"

"I... guess that'll work," Lily said. She had to admit, it made sense. Hanging about the cabin would do her little good, hanging more around the tourists would make her feel better. At least for a little while, anyway.

"Good," Eileen said. "I'll buy you lots of stuff to help you out." Lily watched as Eileen left, and despondently drank her coffee.

And then she got a refill.

* * *

Lily stared up at the ceiling, angling her neck so that she could see out the hole in the roof. She'd found a space to put her sleeping bag, finally, and if it was a bit uncomfortable to be sleeping on hard ground, it could have been far worse.

She yawned, closing her eyes. Hopefully, Eileen would bring her something useful the next day that would make this place more tolerable, so she didn't have to worry about rolling into a bush or anything like that.

She closed her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep. She twisted and turned, trying to make herself comfortable. Eventually, she did drift into sleep, and was dreaming of her pet cat, now gone, who liked to snuggle up against her. The dream felt so real...

Lily opened her eyes and fumbled for the flashlight as she felt something scrambling against her. She instinctively twisted away, heart pounding, as she found the flashlight and turned it on. "Raccoon, shit," she said, recognizing the bandit-masked creature. She scrambled up. "Out, out, OUT!" Had it gotten at her food? Was the rest of her stuff safe?

The raccoon made an annoyed noise and skittered away, probably to its den, through the open door. Lily scrambled to get her shoes on and to close the door behind it. She wondered if it had been looking for food in her sleeping bag; She'd given all of her other food to Eileen for storage, not wanting to have a bear wander into her cabin.

* * *

Lily sat down on a rock, sipping one of her water bottles while gazing at the hole that she was trying to make, emphasis on _trying_. She thought briefly about going back into the cabin and lying down on the cot Eileen had bought her that made her life so much more comfortable. She absentmindedly rubbed at the thumb that she'd hit the previous evening while hammering the lock system together; at least she hadn't had to worry about wildlife when she'd gone to bed that night, at least not through the door. Sleep had come a whole lot easier that night.

With all the stuff that Eileen had brought, her life would be so much easier. Okay, a little easier.

Eileen had gone out and come back as they'd planned, the previous day, while Lily had wandered around Yosemite, bought food, and winced at the prices. Everything seemed so expensive, except maybe some groceries. Maybe there was a price control on them. Lily had priced out some camping equipment and was very glad that Eileen had gone out to get some for her.

The other woman had come back around two with a whole set of items. Lily had thought about having Eileen help carry them in, but then again, Eileen might think her cabin was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Lily didn't want to deal with that, so she took as much as she could, including a camp cot and the shovel and hammer, and something to help her loosen the soil. Oh, and some food in a bear-proof canister with some food inside. She'd set up the cot as soon as she'd gotten there, and then used the hammer and nails to put together the locking system - a primitive one, but one that worked, provided she remembered to use the lock. And then she'd slept the sleep of the very exhausted.

She took a bite out of an energy bar, sipped at the water some more, and sighed as she looked at the pit. It was maybe three feet deep, about three feet on each side. She'd taken care to measure the outhouse, noting that it did have a wood floor, at least. The outhouse was four feet square, so no worries there.

"I am never, ever going into a national park again if that's what I get," she said, finishing the bar and putting the wrapper in a plastic bag that would go into the canister. Eileen had warned her about getting food in contact with her clothing. She looked again at the pit and picked up the tool to loosen the soil. She'd made at least some progress, but it had taken her what was probably hours to get to where she was at that point - and she still had some two or three feet to go. She wiped the sweat off of her face again. "Never ever ever." She pushed the tilling tool into the soil and twisted it, breaking up the soil. Then she moved to her left and did it again. And again. And again. Then she grabbed the shovel and started moving out the loosened soil.

And then, once that layer was shoveled out, she sat down in the pit and reached for her sports cream, wincing as she rubbed it into the sore muscles of her legs, arms, and shoulders. "Why do the superheroes of fantasy have it so easy, and I'm the one stuck with digging the outhouse and deflowering my cabin floor?" She snorted, realizing what she'd just said.

She sighed, getting up and reaching for the tilling tool again.

* * *

"The outhouse is done," Lily said, after she'd made use of the shower at Curry Village. She was still technically a guest there, at least for a few more hours. She and Eileen had booked through that night. Since their booking was nearly up, Eileen had found herself a hotel room in El Portal for the next evening, but in the meantime, Lily was going to make use of the showers there because she could, and because she hated smelling like she'd just been digging an outhouse pit. "Now I don't want to move for the rest of the year, okay?"

"You have to move," Eileen said as she got up. "I'm buying you dinner."

"Okay," Lily replied, shaking her wet hair. "I'll move for that."

Eileen laughed. "Consider it a reward for getting off your butt and doing what you need to do. Did the Osa move the outhouse back?"

"Yes," Lily said, "And I made a ceremonial first use of it, as I needed to go."

Eileen grabbed the shower building's handrail and continued laughing. "As well you should." The two of them made their way through the maze of tent cabins down to the shuttle bus stop.

They took a shuttle bus a few stops down and sat down at a casual Italian restaurant that Lily particularly liked for its good, if slightly overpriced, food. Lily leaned forward after the waiter took their order. "I still think the Osa made a mistake."

"Why?" Eileen asked. She peered at Lily. "Did you forget to take your meds today?"

"Well, yes," Lily said sheepishly, playing with the tablecloth in an attempt not to look at Eileen. "In fact, I don't think I've taken them the last few days."

Eileen rolled her eyes. "You know you have low serotonin levels, you know you get depressed when your serotonin depletes, and you still forget to take it?"

"Well, I've been a bit _busy_ the last few days!" Lily said, running a hand through her hair and looking around. "I've been a superhero for the last few days, I've been doing emergency repairs, I've had bigger things to worry about than my meds."

"Calm down," Eileen said, holding a hand up. "I'll just remind you every day to take them, that's all."

"And what am I supposed to do when my pills run out?" Lily asked, leaning forward to get the point across. "There is a med center for emergencies here, but I really need to see a doctor to get new refills."

"That is a problem, but we will figure it out," Eileen replied, glancing at the table. "It's probably not a good idea for you to leave Yosemite; I bet you lose your powers outside of it, and the bad guys always strike when the hero's vulnerable."

"I'll... ask the Osa sometime," Lily said. "But there are some things that are going to have to be taken care of, and soon. Packing and vacating my apartment, for example. I'll have to go up and take care of that."

"No, you won't!" Eileen said, grabbing Lily's arm. " _I_ can take care of that, one way or another. You're not leaving Yosemite. Whether you like it or not, you... are... Memora. You _will_ stay here and do your job."

Lily refused to reply. Why was everybody so damn sure she was meant to be Memora? As far as she was concerned, she would be the worst choice for it, starting with the fact that she had the depression.

As she thought about it, their food arrived. She played around with her spaghetti, but didn't really eat it.

"Lily, are you all right?" Eileen asked, nudging her.

"Just not as hungry as I thought," Lily mumbled. She twirled some spaghetti up with her fork and examined it.

"If I were you, after what you did today, I'd be famished," Eileen pointed out. "Eat. Don't starve yourself just because you're having a pity party. You need the energy just in case a monster attacks."

She had a good point. Lily started eating, not wanting to run into another situation where she'd been completely wiped and then had to fight, like she'd done the first time she'd become Memora. It wasn't like she'd been lazing about in bed or something and then was having carbs for dinner; she was having carbs because she'd spent all day in the pit, and she might find herself fighting at any point. And even if the Memora armor knew what it was doing, she still didn't want to run out of energy like she nearly had that first fight.

"See?" Eileen said, smiling as she watched Lily eat. "You'd gone into a pity party. Things'll get better, you'll see."

"That's not what you're supposed to tell a person with depression," Lily muttered, but finished her spaghetti. "Next time, I think I'll have the Fettucini."

Eileen laughed. "You do that." She folded her hands. "Look, I have a surprise for you tomorrow, so meet up with me at Curry Village around noon or so, okay? You know, where the bus stop is, at the front."

Lily nodded. "I can do that," she said.

* * *

Lily wasn't smiling when she walked into the cabin, dropping the camp equipment that Eileen had given to her by the door. Eileen had told her that one piece was a chair, a second was a table. She'd put them somewhere once she figured out where that somewhere was. She stuffed the food that Eileen had put into a plastic bag into the bear-proof canister, as well as the plastic bag itself. She didn't want a bear to undo all the hard work she'd done on the door.

She settled onto the cot and took a deep calming breath. "Osa," she said.

"Yes, Memora?" the Osa chimed as the bubble formed around her. She looked up.

"I don't think I'm meant to be Memora," she said.

"You have told us this before," the Osa said, their chiming slightly discordant. "Why do you repeat yourself?"

"Maybe in hopes that you find the person that should have been Memora," Lily told them. "Look. I'm surprised you've put up with me whining for the last few days; Eileen has, but Eileen has the patience of a saint. Don't you want someone who _likes_ this job?"

"But you are Memora," the Osa said, circling above her. "You would have been Memora even if you had never put on the armor. You would be Memora even if you chose to go to the city you call home. Even powerless, you would be Memora."

"Thank you very much, Dungeon Master," Lily snapped. "And in the meantime, Hank and the rest of us would like to get home."

She knew the reference to the old cartoon would fly completely over the Osa's non-existant head, but she couldn't help it.

The Osa swooped down. "Leave us if you must, Memora," the Osa said. "You must be true to your own self."

"Eh?" she asked, not sure of what the Osa meant.

"We awakened your power and bonded it to this place, but you yourself must find the meaning of it and yourself."

"And if I leave?" she asked.

"You must find your own self," the Osa said. "You will know when you have power, and when you don't have power. We did what we could; you must do the rest. If this means leaving this place, then that is your choice."

Lily sighed. Maybe they did understand, in a way. She just wished they realized how much of a bad choice they really had made. "I'm leaving. I can't live like this, out in the forest. I'm miserable here. I can't do a job where I'm miserable all the time. I can't do it in a place where I'm forced to stay."

"That is your choice to make," the Osa said, before disappearing.

"Thank you so much," Lily muttered before lying down. Since the Osa didn't seem to care, she was going to leave. Eileen could hate her later.

She was barely in her sleeping bag before she fell asleep, tired out by the day and her own emotions.

* * *

The next morning, she puttered around a bit with the table and chair before deciding that she was going to leave. At least she'd gotten to sleep in, from the display on her battery-powered alarm clock. "Thank goodness for travel alarms," she muttered. She wondered if she should pack the furniture, but decided against it. Since Eileen would probably not want to speak with her after she rejected the powers and left, she would just leave the stuff in the cabin, with the lock on. Eileen had assisted her enough that the Osa would probably help Eileen, especially if she asked.

The hike back seemed to take forever, not as easily as she'd made it in. The scenery dragged, as if she was moving slowly. She was tired by the time she reached the road, making the half mile - something that was usually easy for her - seem to take a long time as well. She knew that she'd have to take the bus to Curry Village - she was pretty sure they had a bus stop for the outside bus there - after stopping at an ATM for some cash. At least there were plenty of ATMs around.

A while later, after having to wait for a shuttle bus that was very late, she was sitting on the benches outside Curry Village, snacking away at an overpriced pizza slice and sipping at some bottled water. When the bus came - ten minutes late - she boarded it. It was crowded by the time that they made the last Yosemite stop and Lily had to remind herself that the little bus with the less-than-optimal seats was her gateway to a return to sanity.

Suddenly, before they reached the Yosemite gateway, the row of traffic stopped. After a moment, Lily could see the reason why. There was a metal monster, a hippo-like creature on what seemed to be roller skates. It shot a bolt, and the tires of a nearby car, turning the whole wheel metal.

The drivers of the various cars were understandably fleeing. Their bus driver cursed and opened the door. "Run," he yelled.

The various passengers obeyed, Lily coming out last and staring at the monster. Were they not going to leave this place in peace? Apparently not. She knew that she should be running with the rest of the people, but somehow, it didn't seem _right_ to leave this place to the monster if she had a choice. She may not have been a good choice for Memora, but she hoped she was a good person, and a good person meant that sometimes she had to do things she didn't want to do. Her parents had taught her that. "I guess I'm going to be Memora one more time, huh?" she asked the abandoned bus after driver and passengers - and the rest of the travelers around her - had run. She stepped forward, and the monster stared at her curiously, having just blasted another car wheel. She felt the belt form around her. "Memory! Tr-"

The monster rushed at her and Lily jumped back. It spun around and raced off down the- were those wheels? Lily wondered if the spinning wheels on its back had an actual purpose. The wolf-porcupine had been rather artistic looking now that she thought of it.

Which still didn't help catching up with the monster to defeat it.

She stood there, frustrated and glaring after the retreating figure. "It figures, I try to save the world one last time, and the monster doesn't cooperate."

A motorbike revved in from behind her. "Lily, you idiot!"

"Eileen?" Lily gaped.

The motorbike - the dirt bike that Eileen had shown her a picture of a few days earlier, a slim, green machine with a windshield - stopped and Eileen took her helmet off. "I was going to surprise you by getting you this bike," Eileen said, glaring at her. "I mean, you can't be waiting for the shuttle bus every time a monster attacks. And what do I find you doing? Leaving your responsibilities like some irresponsible teenager! Someone half your age! You're lucky the Osa decided to tell me where you'd gone!"

"Okay, okay, I get the picture, I have a monster heading out of the park," Lily said hurriedly. "Can I deal with that now, have you scream at me later?"

Eileen ran her fingers through her hair. "Yes. Will your powers work outside the park boundaries?"

"Hopefully," Lily said. "I get the sense that if I can catch it fast enough, I should still be able to transform into Memora." Heaven knew what the boundaries of her powers were, as the Osa had put it.

Eileen nodded and got off. "You should be able to figure it out pretty fast," she said. "Superheroes can do that."

"I hope so," Lily told her. Eileen handed her the helmet. "...I don't need that." She took a breath. "Memory! Transform!"

"Right," Eileen said, backing off to the safety of the side of the road. "Good luck. And come back!"

"I promise that you can scream at me all you want later." Lily took off on the bike in the direction the Hippo had gone, tracking the path of the Hippo from the abandoned cars that she flew past. She shortly drove past the Yosemite entrance - which was, if not deserted, at least seemed to be. Probably the Park Rangers hadn't been big on combatting a metallic hippo either.

Lily swerved around a camper and saw something rush around a minivan. She sped up, biting her lip as the bridge over the river gorge came into view. There! The hippo was turning the wheels of a Jeep into metal. Lily revved her engine and drove straight at a sports car. Using it as a ramp, she sailed through the air, landing beside the Jeep.

The monster backed away from the Jeep, eyeing her. Lily stepped off her bike and raised her fists. "Okay, you're going to stop this. Now."

The monster made a whimpering sound as it looked from side to side. Then it started rolling away from her.

"Oh no, you don't!" Lily said. She tackled the monster, knocking them both to the ground. They rolled and Lily pushed it off her. She jumped up and ducked the wild punch it threw. She slammed her fists into the monster. It flew back and hit the rock face. It struggled to its feet then rushed her. She jumped out of the way and turned. It crashed into the stone-and-metal guardrail.

It struggled up, a bit clumsier than before. It tried to rush her again. She jumped to the side and let it slam into the rock face again. And then let it slame into the guardrail again. Then the rock face. Then the guardrail. Tactics were not its strong point.

Finally, she took pity on the monster. She jumped and kicked, knocking them both through the guardrail.

The monster exploded over the river gorge as Lily caught a hold of the guardrail to prevent herself from falling in.

Before anybody could return and see her struggles, she vaulted over the guard rail and mounted her bike again. She wondered if she could remake it so it looked less like a dirt bike, more like something that would compliment her armor.

"I guess I do need to do this," she said. Eileen was right; the monsters wouldn't stop just because she'd stopped being Memora. The Armor would help her to fight until she figured out how; she just needed to figure out how. The Osa might have made a bad choice, she knew it was a bad choice, but she was a responsible person. She'd have to make the best of her situation, no matter how much she disliked it or thought it was stupid. Her parents had taught her to be responsible, and they'd taught her compassion. Doing good wasn't always comfortable. Sometimes one had to make lemonade out of lemons.

At least she'd be able to work on the bike, with all the time she had when she was waiting to be called to battle. And she could leave Yosemite, if she had to, if she wanted to. It was her choice to make, her judgment call. Her responsibility.

She drove the bike back. The Park Ranger station was still deserted as she drove past. And Eileen was waiting where she'd left her. She took a deep breath and detransformed.

"I keep my word," she said plainly. Eileen nodded.

"I still can't believe that you were going to abandon your responsibilities," Eileen said as they walked back towards the main inhabited part of Yosemite.

"I still think the Osa grabbed the wrong person," Lily said. "Or I could need my meds."

"Or maybe the Osa grabbed the right person, and she's too stupid to realize it," Eileen argued, waving her hands around as if she was trying to conduct a particularly chaotic orchestra, as they squeezed through a pair of automobiles. "At least it sounded like you had powers."

"I think the Osa have a broader view of what constitutes Yosemite National Park than the Park Service does," Lily said, motioning to the area around them. "For all I know, it encompasses non-urban areas. It's just that my powers are bound to the park and the area around it."

"All the better reason for you to stay here," Eileen argued as they continued walking. "If you left, there would be no defense for this place. And they'd probably try to kill you while you were defenseless."

"I know, I know," Lily said, looking at Eileen. "I get that. I do read the occasional comic, you know."

"Good," Eileen said, with a satisfied smile.

"But at some point, I'm going to need to go into town," Lily said. "I need to get someone to refill my meds. I need to buy stuff that only I can buy. I need to go to a place that's not touristy, just to save my sanity."

"You live in a cabin in the woods," Eileen pointed out.

"Let me revise that. I need civilization that's not touristy," Lily said. "Yosemite... is expensive. And geared for tourists."

Eileen nodded. "I can see the health issue. You do do better when you're on your medication. Better to take care of that now, rather than later."

"Oh?" Lily asked, intrigued.

"Better to get all that stuff done before the bad guys put two and two together - or, in your case, Memora and you together - and decide to attack the park while you're in town," Eileen said. "You know they would, it's the kind of thing villains do. Get the medications you need, and a pharmacy to pick them up at, before the monsters figure things out. I can pick up the refills, whenever possible."

Lily sighed. "I can live with that, I think." It was funny. The knowledge that she could leave, that Eileen and the Osa would let her leave, seemed like Yosemite was not as much a prison as it had been since she'd become Memora. Maybe that would help her become more with nature as her powers needed her to be. And maybe it would help her accept what she'd been given.

"Good," Eileen said. "Because you're going to have to."

They walked to the nearest shuttle stop. "I'm going to head to my car," Eileen said. "Will you be here tomorrow, for breakfast?"

"If it's at Curry Village," Lily said. "And you're paying."

Eileen nodded. "I'll see you then." She leaned up against a tree while Lily got back on the bike and drove back to her own trail, her own home.

Later that evening, as she folded her shirt into a bag, she looked at the sky above from the hole in her roof. There was surprisingly little light pollution where she was, and she could see the sky clearly. "Eileen does owe me breakfast," she told the night sky. "And I guess I can live here. And make it a home."

The breeze, the fresh mountain breeze, seemed to blow into the cabin in response, as if welcoming her. As if the area around her was trying to make her at home. She could feel it; she could feel it trying to accommodate her.

There was nothing more she could say, and the world around her knew it. With a soft sigh, she pulled up a chair and watched the stars.

* * *

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cross The Path](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7187045) by [Estirose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose)




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